Printer with rotary print wheels



y 1966 H. B. VROOM ETAL PRINTER WITH ROTARY PRINT WHEELS 5 Sheets-Sheet1 Filed Aug. 25, 1964 INVENTORS HAROLD B. VROOM MICHAEL S. JUHASATTORNEYS July 19, 1966 H. B. VROOM ETAI.

PRINTER WITH ROTARY PRINT WHEELS 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 25, 1964HAROLD B. VROOIVI MICHAEL S. JUHAS ATTORNEYS July 1966 H. B. VROOM ETAL3,

PRINTER WITH ROTARY PRINT WHEELS 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Aug. 25, 1964HAROLD B. VROOM MICHAEL S. JUHAS ATTORNEYS United States Patent3,261,283 PRINTER WITH ROTARY PRINT WHEELS Harold B. Vroom, Simsbury,and Michael S. Jnhas, Torrington, Conn, assignors to Veeder-RootIncorporated, New Britain, Conn, a corporation of Connecticut Filed Aug.25, 1964, Ser. No. 391,866 Claims. (Cl. 10195) The present inventionrelates to a new and improved printer of the type conventionally havinga plurality of coaxial printing wheels with angularly spaced peripheralprinting characters or type and rotatable for locating the printingcharacters at printing positions for cooperation with a pressureapplicator for printing.

It is a principal aim of the present invention to provide a new andimproved printer of the type described for producing high qualityprinting capable of being read with optical reading equipment.

It is another aim of the present invention to provide a new and improvedprinter for producing printing of consistent and even density.

It is a further aim of the present invention to provide in a printer ofthe type described an arrangement for accurately locating and rigidlysupporting the print wheels for printing.

It is another aim of the present invention to provide in improvedprinter useful in combination with a driven counter for selectivelyprinting the count of the counter.

It is another aim of the present ivention to provide in a printer of thetype having printing hammers for the printing wheels, a new and improvedhammer construction and operation for producing even and consistentprinting.

It is another aim of the present invention to provide a new and improvedprinter having utility for selective printing with either a manual or asuitable power-operated drive.

It is a further aim of the present invention to provide a printer havinga compact and economical assembly of parts adapted to give reliable andmaintenance-free operation over a long service life.

Other objects will be in part obvious and in part pointed out more indetail hereinafter.

The invention accordingly consists in the features of construction,combination of elements and arrangement of parts which will beexemplified in the construction hereafter set forth, and the scope ofthe application of which will be indicated in the appended claims.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is -a partially exploded perspective view, partly broken away andpartly in section, of an embodiment of a printer of the presentinvention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged transverse section view of the printer;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged rear view, partly 'broken away and partly insection, of the printer; and

FIG. 4 is an enlarged partial longitudinal section view of the printer,partly broken away and partly in section, showing the print Wheels ofthe printer in more detail.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, an embodiment of the printer ofthe present invention, generally denoted by the numeral 10, is shown tocomprise a stationary or principal frame portion 12 having an elongatedbase 14 and front and rear face plates 16, 18 upstanding at thelongitudinal ends of the base, the front face plate 16 being showndetached from the base 14 in FIG. 1 for clarity. The base 14 is shownformed with a pair of upstanding longitudinally spaced stanchions 20,and a secondary frame portion or carriage 22 is mounted on thestanchions by a pivot pin 24 for relative movement with respect to theframe portion 12 between a pivotally withdrawn position and an extendedor printing position shown in the drawings. The movable frame portion 22is shown formed with a base 26 and an overlying cover 28 3,251,283Patented July 19, 1966 which is rigidly secured to the base 26 bymachine screws 30 and spaced in parallel relationship therewith by a U-.shaped spacer 32 to provide a suitable slot or receptacle 34 forreceiving a ticket, as for example an IBM card, or the like forprinting. A suitable entrance slot 35 is provided in the face plate 16for alignment with the slot receptacle 34 when the movable frame portion22 is in its withdrawn position and thereby provide for insertion of theticket into the slot receptacle 34 before the frame portion 22 ispivoted to its printing position.

The counter is shown driven by an electromechanical mounted on the base26 with its shaft 42 rotatably mounted within suitable bushings 44 aboutan axis parallel to the pivotal axis of the frame portion 22. Mounted onthe shaft 42 are a plurality of coaxial counter or print wheels 45-51having angularly spaced peripheral printing characters or type, which inthe shown embodiment are formed for printing the numeral sequence 0-9.

The counter is shown driven by an electromechanical device comprising anelectromagnet 52 secured to the underside of the base 26 and a ratchetmechanism 56 mounted on the shaft 42. The ratchet mechanism 56 includesa ratchet wheel 58 fixed to the shaft 42 and in the shown embodimenthaving a number of teeth, here ten, equal to the number of printingcharacters on the counter wheels 45-51. A ratchet dog 60 is pivotallymounted on a support arm 62 rotatable on the counter shaft 42 and isurged into engagement with the ratchet wheel 58 by a torsion spring 64.The arm 62 is oscillated on the counter shaft to index the counter instepwise fashion by a pivotally mounted armature 66 of the electromagnet52 pivotally connected to toggle links 68 which are pivotally connectedto the ratchet arm 62. The armature 66 is drawn upwardly as seen in FIG.2 against the force of a compression spring 72 when the electromagnet isenergized and when the electromagnet 52 is de-energized the compressionspring 72 returns the ratchet dog 60 to its initial or normal positionwhich is made adjustable by a stop screw 74 engageable by a lip 76 onthe armature.

The lowest order wheel 45 of the counter is fixed to the shaft 42 and isaccordingly indexed by the ratchet mechanism 56. For indexing the higherorder counter wheels 46-51, the counter is provided with suitabletransfer pinions 80 rotatable on a transfer pinion shaft 82 mounted onthe base 26 and in a conventional manner the counter wheels are providedwith suitable drive and driven gears 83, 84 for indexing adjacent higherorder wheels one step for each full revolution of the adjacent lowerorder wheels respectively.

A plurality of axially spaced and axially aligned printing hammers 90,92 are rigidly mounted on the cover 28, for which purpose the printinghammers are provided with enlarged generally rectangular tail orsupporting portions 96, 98, respectively, that are secured in spacedrelationship within a U-shaped housing 100 by machine screws 101, thehousing 100 being rigidly secured to the cover 28 by machine screws 102.The printing hammers 90, 92 are of generally flat construction in closenoninterfitting association. Printing hammers alternately mounted withthe hammers 92 are in alignment with the print wheels 45-51. Theprinting hammers 92 are mounted in alignment with the printingcharacters or type on a slug or bar 94 inserted within a correspondingslot in the base 26 to provide a serial or identification number for theprinter.

An operator for the printer comprises a control shaft 109 rotatablymounted on the front and rear face plates 16, 18 about an axis parallelto the axis of the counter 40, and in the shown embodiment is manuallyoperable by a lever 112. Mounted on the shaft 109 adjacent the front andrear plates 16, 18 area pair of jump control cams 114 shown providedwith a pair of diametrically opposed radial cam edges 116 anddiametrically opposed generally spiral edges 118 therebetween. The cams114 are adapted to engage cam follower blocks 120 mounted on the cover28 and thereby function, upon rotation of the cams 114 in thecounterclockwise direction as seen in FIG. 1, to pivot the frame portion22 from its withdrawn to its printing position against the bias of apair of compression springs 122 and to release the frame portion 22 forreturn to its withdrawn position by the springs 122. The control cams114 are rotatable on the control shaft 11E and are driven by the controlshaft by ratchet mechanisms comprising radially extending pins or dogs123 fixed to the shaft and two-tooth ratchet wheels 125 with spiral facecams 127 fixed to the control cams 114. The ratchet mechanisms arethereby adapted to drive the control cams 114 when the control shaft 109is rotated in the counterclockwise direction as seen in FIG. 1. HOW-ever, when the control shaft 109 is rotated in the opposite angulardirection, the radial edges 116 on the cams 114 will abut the followers120 to prevent further angular displacement of the control cams, andtherefore the pins 123 will function thereafter to cam the control cams114 axially against compression springs 126.

The printing hammers 911, 2 are integrally formed with enlarged printingheads 130, 132 and narrow resilient supporting arms 134, 136,respectively, and are preferably formed of a suitable semi-hard plastic,such as Deli-in, to give the hammers sufficient resiliency to bewithdrawn from their normal or nonstressed positions spaced from thecounter wheels for the storage of sufiicient motive power forsubsequently returning the hammer through and beyond its normal positionto strike a ticket placed in the slot 34. The hammers 90, 92 therebyprovide pressure applicators for printing the ticket with the axiallyaligned printing characters on the bar 94 and on the print wheelsadjacent the slot 34. For printing accuracy, it is preferred that theprinting hammers 2t), 92 are designed with the faces 140, 142 thereofpositioned to engage the ticket directly above and parallel to therespective type, to strike the ticket only once during each print cycleand thereby prevent double printing due to rebounding motion of thehammer, and with the heads 130, 132 having a relative large mass andsufiicient hardness to provide suflicient impact when striking theticket.

The printing hammers 90, 92 are integrally formed with cam followers144, 146 having lip edges engageable with a hammer control cam 147,shown formed integrally with the control shaft 109. For effectingwithdrawal of the printing hammers the control cam 147 is provided witha partially cylindrical holding cam surface 151 which is positioned forengagement by the followers 144, 146 to withdraw the hammers from theirnormal or unstressed position as the secondary frame portion 22 ispivoted to its printing position by the control cams 114. The hammercontrol cam 147 has a generally radial edge 152 for releasing thehammers substantially simultaneously, although independently as eachprinting hammer operates under its own motive power. The control cam 147is angularly related to the control cams 114 such that the cams functionto pivot the secondary frame portion 22 from its withdrawn position toits printing position against the bias of the compression spring 122while simultaneously holding and thereby withdrawing the printinghammers from their normal or unstressed positions, and to sequentiallyrelease the printing hammers for printing and release the secondaryframe portion for return to its withdrawn position by the compressionsprings 122. In the shown embodiment, after the secondary frame portionhas been released, the control shaft 109 may be rotated to its initialposition, in the clockwise direction as seen in FIG. 2, for whichpurpose a torsion spring 153 is provided for returning the control shaftto its initial position through its operational angle of approximately180.

In order to prevent operation of the printing hammers until a ticket isproperly positioned within the slot 34, an interlock 161i is providedwhich is adapted to lock the control shaft 109 against rotation in thecounterclockwise direction as seen in FIG. 1 until after the ticket hasengaged and depressed a control finger portion 163 of. an interlock pawl161 and thereby pivot the pawl to unlatch the ratchet pin 123. Uponsubsequent removal of the ticket, the pawl 161 will re-engage the pin123 and accordingly relock the control shaft when the control shaft 1119is returned to its normal position.

For precisely locating and rigidly supporting the print wheels 4551 forprinting, each of the print wheels 45-51 is provided with a pair oflocating and aligning guides 165 that are suitably fixed to the wheelson opposite sides thereof, and a guide support block 162 is fixed to thestationary frame portion 12 for engagement with the guides 165 when thesecondary frame portion 22 is pivoted to its printing position, forwhich purpose the cam followers are made resilient to ensure engagementby the guides with the guide support block. The support block 162 isformed to provide a plurality of upstanding fingers 164 of generallyU-shaped construction transversely aligned with the guides 165 andengageable thereby. The locating and aligning guides 165 are providedwith supporting edges 166 for the printing characters respectivelysubstantially diametrically opposed from the respective printingcharacters to provide direct support for the impact of the printinghammers. In the embodiment shown, the locating and aligning edges 166are planar and parallel to the face of the respective diametricallyopposed printing characters, and the fingers 164 are accordingly formedwith planar supporting edges 168 engageable by the guide edges 166. Moreparticularly, the guides 165 are formed in the shape of a star wheelhaving a number of points, here ten, equal to the number of printingcharacters on the print wheel and with each locating and supporting edge166 provided by transversely spaced coplanar edge portions forming sidesof adjacent points of an intermediate point on the star wheeldiametrically opposed to the respective printing character. The fingers164 are accordingly provided with central slots 17%) for receiving theintermediate points of the star wheel and thereby additionally providefor transversely locating the guides 165 on the guide support block.Preferably, the locating and aligning guides 165 are of identicalconfiguration and the supporting fingers 164 are of conforming identicalconfiguration with coplanar support edges 168. It can be seen thereforethat the cooperating guide edges 166 and support edges 168 provlde forangularly and axially aligning and locating the counter wheels. Also,the U-shaped fingers 164 function to locate the print wheels axially onthe countershaft 42 as each of the counter wheels is snugly receivedbetween the respective pair of fingers 164.

It can be seen therefore that the locating guides and the guide supportcooperate for accurately locating and aligning the printing charactersfor producing precise and accurate printing capable of being read byoptical reading equipment. Additionally, with the printer of the presentinvention the printing hammers are independently though substantiallysimultaneously operated to produce consistent and even printing with thealigned printing characters. Further, the printer of the presentinvention may be conveniently adapted for manual or motor drivenoperation, and is especially adapted for use with a counter forselective reg1strat1on of the count of the counter.

As will be apparent to persons skilled in the art, various modificationsand adaptations of the structure above described will become readilyapparent without departure from the spirit and scope of the invention,the scope of which is defined in the appended claims.

We claim:

1. A printer comprising a frame, a counter having a wheel supportingshaft mounted on the frame and a plurality of coaxial counter wheelsmounted on the shaft with angularly spaced peripheral printingcharacters on the periphery thereof adapted for being indexed to axiallyaligned printing positions by rotation of the counter wheels; a hammerassembly comprising a plurality of individual axially aligned hammersfor the print wheels respectively having tailend portions rigidlysecured to the frame, head portions with hammer faces cooperable withthe respective printing characters in the axially aligned printingpositions for printing, and resilient arm portions intermediate the tailand head portions providing for resilient withdrawal of the headportions from unstressed positions spaced from the printing charactersin the axially aligned printing positions for storing motive power forindependent operation of the hammers for printing, and means forwithdrawing the hammers from their unstressed positions for storingmotive power for printing.

2. The printer of claim 1 wherein the hammers are of a semi-hardresilient plastic with integrally formed tail, head and arm portions.

3. A printer comprising a first frame, a second frame pivotallyconnected to the first frame for movement relative thereto betweenwithdrawn and printing positions, a counter with coaxial counter wheelsrotatably mounted on the second frame about an axis parallel to thepivotal axis of the second frame, said counter wheels having angularlyspaced printing characters on the periphery thereof, a control shaftrotatably mounted on the first frame about an axis parallel to thepivotal axis of the second frame, a plurality of axially alignedprinting hammers mounted on the second frame for cooperation with theprinting wheels respectively, said printing hammers being adapted forwithdrawal from the printing whee-ls for storing motive power forprinting, first control cam means on the control shaft for controllingthe pivotal movement of the second frame relative to the first framebetween its withdrawn and printing positions, second control cam meanson the control shaft for withdrawing the printing hammers and forreleasing the printing hammers with the second frame in its printingposition, and locating means for the print Wheels including supportmeans fixed to the first frame engageable with the counter with thesecond frame in its printing position.

4. The printer of claim 3 further comprising a ticket receptacle in thesecond frame for receiving a ticket for printing and interlock means forpreventing operation of the control shaft releasable by a ticket in theslot receptacle.

5. The printer of claim 3 wherein the first and second control cam meansare operable upon rotation of the control shaft in one angular directionto pivot the second frame to its printing position, to withdraw theprinting hammers, and to sequentially release the printing hammers forprinting and provide for pivotal movement of the second frame to itswithdrawn position.

6. The printer of claim 5 wherein the first control cam means includes acam rotatable on the control shaft having a spiral cam edge for pivotingthe second frame to its printing position and a generally radial camedge for releasing the second frame for return to its withdrawnposition, and further comprising one-way ratchet means connecting thecontrol shaft and the cam operable for rotating the cam with the controlshaft in said one angular direction.

7. A printer comprising a first frame having a face plate with a ticketslot therein, a second frame pivotally connected to the first frame formovement relative thereto between withdrawn and printing positions, saidsecond frame having a slot receptacle therein aligned with the ticketslot with the second frame in its withdrawn position, a counter with awheel supporting shaft mounted on the second frame on an axissubstantially parallel to the axis of relative pivotal movement of thesecond frame and a plurality of rotatable coaxial counter wheels mountedon the wheel supporting shaft, said counter wheels having angularlyspaced printing characters on the periphery thereof adapted to beindexed to axially aligned printing positions adjacent the slotreceptacle by rotation of the counter wheels, a hammer assembly mountedon the second frame having axially aligned printing hammers adapted forindividual cooperation with the counter wheels respectively, saidhammers being adapted to be withdrawn from the counter wheels forstoring motive power for printing, a control shaft rotatably mounted onthe first frame, first control means operable by the control shaft forwithdrawing the hammers, and second control means operable by thecontrol shaft for pivoting the second frame between its withdrawn andprinting positions, and auxiliary counter support means on the firstframe for supporting the counter wheels with the second frame in itsprinting position.

8. The printer of claim 7 wherein the first control means comprisesrotatable cam means having a first partially cylindrical cam portionengageable with the hammers for holding them against pivotal movementwith the second frame and for thereby withdrawing the hammers from thecounter wheels.

9. In combination with a printer having a wheel supporting shaft, aplurality of coaxial print wheels mounted on the wheel supporting shafthaving angularly spaced printing characters adapted for being indexed toaxially aligned angular printing positions by rotation of the printwheels, and a pressure applicator adapted to cooperate with the printingcharacters in the axially aligned printing positions for printing, anauxiliary guide and guide support assembly for locating the printingcharacters for printing comprising, a pair of axially spaced locatingand aligning guides fixed for rotation for each of the print wheels andwith the print wheel intermediate thereof, and guide support meanshaving a plurality of axially spaced support fingers engageable with thelocating and aligning guides respectively substantially diametricallyopposite the printing characters at the axially aligned printingpositions.

10. In combination with a printer having a wheel supporting shaft, aplurality of coaxial print wheels mounted on the wheel supporting shafthaving angularly spaced printing characters adapted for being indexed toaxially aligned angular printing positions by rotation of the printwheels, and a pressure applicator adapted to cooperate with the printingcharacters in the axially aligned printing positions for printing; anauxiliary guide and guide support assembly for locating the printingcharacters for printing comprising, locating and aligning guides fixedfor rotation with the print Wheels respectively having a star wheelcontour with a number of points equal to the number of printingcharacters and forming a pair of transversely spaced coplanar guide edgeportions substantially parallel to and diametrically opposed from eachof the printing characters respectively, and guide support meansengageable with the pair of coplanar edge portions substantiallydiametrically opposite the printing characters at the axially alignedangular printing positions.

11. In combination with a printer having a wheel supporting shaft, aplurality of coaxial print wheels mounted on the wheel supporting shafthaving angularly spaced printing characters adapted for being indexed toaxially aligned angular printing positions by rotation of the printwheels, and a pressure applicator adapted to cooperate with the printingcharacters in the axially aligned angular printing positions forprinting, an auxiliary guide and guide support assembly for locating theprinting characters for printing comprising, locating and aligningguides fixed for rotation with the print wheels respectively havingsubstantially identical contours with coplanar guide edge portionssubstantially parallel to and diametrically opposed from the printingcharacters re spectively and guide support means having coplanar supportedge portions engageable with the coplanar guide edge portionssubstantially diametrically opposite the printing characters at theaxially aligned angular printing positions.

12; In combination with a printer having a counter with a wheelsupporting shaft and a plurality of coaxial counter Wheels mounted onthe wheel supporting shaft having angularly spaced printing charactersadapted for being indexed to axially align-ed angular printing positionsby rotation of the counter Wheels and a pressure applicator adapted toapply a radial force on the printing characters in the axially alignedangular printing positions for printing, means for locating the axiallyaligned printing characters for printing comprising, means for pivotingthe counter between counting and printing positions, 10- cating andaligning guides fixed for rotation with the print wheels respectively,and auxiliary stationary guide support means engageable with thelocating and aligning guides diametrically opposite the axially alignedprinting characters in the printing positions with the counter in itsprinting position and removed from the locating and aligning guides withthe counter in its counting position.

13. A printer comprising a first main frame, a second frame connected tothe first frame for displacement relative thereto between a Withdrawnposition and an extended printing position, a counter with a wheelsupporting shaft mounted on the second frame and a plurality of coaxialcounter wheels mounted on the Wheel supporting shaft having angularlyspaced peripheral printing characters thereon adapted for being indexedto axially aligned angular printing positions by rotation of the counterWheels, a pressure applicator mounted on the second frame cooperablewith the print wheels with the second frame in its printing position forapplying a radial force on the printing characters in the axiallyaligned angular printing positions for printing, auxiliary counter wheelsupport means on the first frame in engagement with the countersubstantially diametrically opposite the axially aligned printingcharacters in the printing positions with the second frame in itsprinting position, and means for moving the second frame between itswithdrawn and printing positions and for operating the pressureapplicator with the second frame in its printing position.

14. A printer comprising a first frame, a second frame connected to thefirst frame for displacement relative thereto between a withdrawnposition and an extended printing position, a counter with a Wheelsupporting shaft mounted on the second frame and a plurality of coaxialcounter wheels mounted on the Wheel supporting shaft having angularlyspaced peripheral printing characters thereon adapted for being indexedto axially aligned angular printing positions by rotation of the counterWheels, locating and aligning guides for the counter wheels having guideedge portions substantially diametrically opposed from the printingcharacters respectively, a pressure applicator mounted on one of theframes cooperable with the print wheels with the second frame in itsprinting position for applying a generally radial force on the printingcharacters in the axially aligned angular printing positions forprinting, auxiliary counter wheel support means on the first frame inengagement with the re spective guide edge portions of the axiallyaligned printing characters in the printing positions with the secondframe in its printing position, and means for moving the second framebetween its Withdrawn and printing positions and for operating thepressure applicator with the second frame in its printing position.

15. The printer of claim 14 wherein the respective guide edge portionsfor the printing characters in the axially aligned angular printingpositions are coplanar and substantially parallel to the respectiveprinting characters in the printing positions and wherein the auxiliarycounter wheel support means has coplanar support edge portionsengageable therewith.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 445,251 1/1891Massey 10170 2,193,565 3/1940 Murchison 101-95 2,687,088 8/1954 Hennessyet al. 101-95 2,708,873 5/1955 Bra-un 10119 3,173,359 3/1965 Turner10l79 DAVID KLEIN, Primary Examiner. ROBERT E. PULFREY, Examiner.NATHANIEL HUMPHRIES, Assistant Examiner.

1. A PRINTER COMPRISING A FRAME, A COUNTER HAVING A WHEEL SUPPORTINGSHAFT MOUNTED ON THE FRAME AND A PLURALITY OF COAXIAL COUNTER WHEELSMOUNTED ON THE SHAFT WITH ANGULARLY SPACED PERIPHERAL PRINTINGCHARACTERS ON THE PERIPHERY THEREOF ADAPTED FOR BEING INDEXED TO AXIALLYALIGNED PRINTING POSITIONS BY ROTATION OF THE COUNTER WHEELS; A HAMMERASSEMBLY COMPRISING A PLURALITY OF INDIVIDUAL AXIALLY ALIGNED HAMMERSFOR THE PRINT WHEELS RESPECTIVELY HAVING TAILEND PORTIONS RIGIDLYSECURED TO THE FRAME, HEAD PORTIONS WITH HAMMER FACES COOPERABLE WITHTHE RESPECTIVE PRINTING CHARACTERS IN THE AXIALLY ALIGNED PRINTINGPOSITIONS FOR PRINTING, AND RESILIENT ARM PORTIONS INTERMEDIATE THE TAILAND HEAD PORTIONS PROVIDING FOR RESILIENT WITHDRAWAL OF THE HEADPORTIONS FROM UNSTRESSED POSITIONS SPACED FROM THE PRINTING CHARACTERSIN THE AXIALLY ALIGNED PRINTING POSITIONS FOR STORING MOTIVE POWER FORINDEPENDENT OPERATION OF THE HAMMERS FOR PRINTING, AND MEANS FORWITHDRAWING THE HAMMERS FROM THEIR UNSTRESSED POSITIONS FOR STORINGMOTIVE POWER FOR PRINTING.